<p>I thought I'd start a thread where we can commiserate, support, and cheer each other on if your son or daughter was waitlisted, but now wants to stay on the waitlist in the hopes of getting in. Apparently, many kids were waitlisted this year (D got 2 WL; she's pursuing 1 of them). According to my gc, some schools "go to the waitlist" more than others. There could be some nice surprises here (that's what I'm telling myself -- got to stay hopeful).</p>
<p>Was your son or daughter waitlisted? At how many schools? Are they going to stay on 1 or more waitlist? What is your strategy for turning the WL into accept?</p>
<p>Good luck everyone. As they say -- when life hands you lemons, return them immediately for limes and make a big vodka tonic.</p>
<p>Hi. My S is similarly on 2 waitlists (Princeton, Northwestern) and is likely going to remain one 1 of them (Princeton) despite acceptances at several other great schools (WUSTL, Duke, Cornell, UofMichigan). </p>
<p>He had really wanted Princeton, but I worry the chances of him getting off the WL there are very slim. Who turns Princeton down unless it’s for Harvard, Yale, Stanford or MIT? At first I thought maybe students opt to go elsewhere for financial reasons, but Princeton is known to give great FA so I guess this won’t be a huge factor.</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m wondering about others’ experiences with waitlisting? Is there a way to increase your chances of gaining admission off the WL?</p>
<p>Thank you for starting this thread! It will be a lot of help.</p>
<p>My D was waitlisted at 2 schools also, and will stay on one. The school requires a short “letter” explaining her “continued interest” in being accepted. She has waited until getting the rest of her results, and plans to send the letter in soon. Many people have suggested asking the GC to make another contact, too. D doesn’t particularly have new accomplishments or special news since she applied - she’s been working hard and doing well, but nothing really unusual. She’ll do what she can do and hope it brings her a new option.</p>
<p>Some schools don’t ask for this kind of statement, but usually the advice is to write them a sincere letter anyway, to help your chances.</p>
<p>In the meantime, she has to assume that the great options she has already are the only ones she’ll get, so she has to devote significant time to choosing a school to deposit at by May 1st.</p>
<p>One thing I think WLed kids shouldn’t do is deposit too early at their choice in the meantime, since you forfeit that money if the waitlist comes through. Yet her WL school says it wouldn’t start going to the list until May or June, so we’re not stressing about that too much.</p>
<p>Mostly my D is utterly thrilled and flattered that she did so well at getting on this waitlist, and she will be proud of that forever. It was a reach that she added late in the game, and it has meant so much to her that she made that good an impression on them.</p>
<p>Waitlists are often considered a terrible state of limbo, but for us it just means she wasn’t a slam-dunk rejection at a great school. The other school where she was WLed happens also to have rejected some pretty top students at her HS, so she was pretty proud of that, too, just isn’t as interested in going there at this point.</p>
<p>Thanks ladies – I’ve got my fingers crossed for all our kids. I think the sincere letter is a great idea. Plus maybe a visit if one hasn’t done so yet.
Another thing I was wondering – is it best to have the gc contact the school to see if the WL has opened up? Do they prefer talking to a gc vs. a parent? Is there any “negotiating” done at some schools (i.e., gc tells adcom "i’ve got this great kid who has some terrific offers but your school is their first love)?
And are there 2 “waves” of WL opening up – one when first deposits go down on May 1, then another when the next deposit is due? I’ve heard of kids getting off the WL in July! Which to me means someone put down their initial deposit to hold their spot, then maybe they got in off the WL at THEIR dream school so a spot opened up. And if this happens in July (when gc is off), does the calling now fall to the parent?
So many questions…</p>
<p>We’re in a terrible boat regarding visits - not only is it next to impossible to schedule, and way past our budget for this whole business this year, D is so exhausted from the trips she made this winter that she feels like she’d explode if she had to go on one more. </p>
<p>In fact, we had a visit to this school scheduled for this past week (spring break) when I thought we could manage the 1000 mi drive out there, but school commitments made that impossible.</p>
<p>I was hoping she could “show more love” but now I feel like I hurt her by canceling at the last minute. I’m actually considering calling the admissions office myself on Monday and apologizing again, that it was all my fault. </p>
<p>I suggested that D make it very clear in her letter that even without the visit, she does know and love the school, isn’t just trying for a “name.” She is perfectly well-informed from general visits to the area and from her research, just has never officially signed in at their admissions office for anything.</p>
<p>Yup, these WLs can go on and on. But I wouldn’t worry about the GC during the summer. If s/he can put in a nice word now, that will set you up just fine. </p>
<p>I’m no expert, just practical and have read CC for a while. What I do know is that it’s not so simple as you’re #11 and they took 15 of the WL last year, so your chances are good. Most holistically oriented schools will look at what kind of kid declined admission and go through their WL for someone else to fill their spot with the best “fit.” So the best strategy is to let them know that 1) you would go if they asked, and 2) you’re still the same interesting person you were before - maybe even a little more interesting - in your own particular way.</p>
<p>Another piece of wisdom I’ve gleaned from a couple of years on CC: the kid HAS to pick a school in the meantime and get really pumped about it. WL admissions are very small, and it’s not fair to let a kid “figure” that’s what’s really going to work out. And very often they invest enough emotional energy into the (very nice!) school they commit to first that they actually DO turn down the WL in the end even if they get it. </p>
<p>Talk about a crazy game. But these kids are entitled. This is the phase where THEY get to choose. And colleges know WLs are this strange process that both sides need, but no one really enjoys.</p>
<p>A little story: My H’s dream all his life was to be a doctor. He chose to go to a tough private university over a standard public U for undergrad, and his GPA suffered. His MCAT was only OK (he was too busy working full-time paying for school to study for it!).</p>
<p>The first year he applied to med school, he didn’t get in anywhere. He was put on the waitlist for his flagship public, at about #80 - this was a situation where they could rank you buy stats. They only took maybe 50, so he spent a gap year doing research. He raised his MCAT, too, and the following year he got in again, and was #6 on the waitlist! </p>
<p>We pretty much assumed he’d get in, and he did, but the irony was that they took 90 from the WL that year, so if the world had turned just a little differently his first time, he would have been in!</p>
<p>30 years - and a terrific clinical and academic career - later, we barely remember that he got in off the waitlist, EXCEPT when he has to take boards to recertify - if he’d gotten in that first year, he would have been in the last med school class to certify for life. Now he takes 3 sets of boards every 10 years! I guess that’s what he gets for not making time to study for the MCAT back when he was in college …</p>
<p>This is what our GC taught me during the 2009 cycle (we were lucky to dodge the WL with this 2011 kid): Your GC is the key to information and possibly a chance at success in getting off the WL. Hopefully, you have a good, candid relationship with your GC and your GC is experienced!</p>
<ul>
<li><p>GC can talk with Admissions in an attempt to learn more about the WL size, yield projections, movement trends, unstated rankings or preferences (i.e., as denials come in from the accepted bunch, what gaps do they need to fill?), etc. Obviously, the GC may learn all or none of this–it just depends–and the GC may not (arguably should not) tell you any of the facts learned, but can better guide your decision to stay on or get off the WL “based on what I learned from Admissions…”</p></li>
<li><p>GC can advise how best your senior can self-promote to this particular Admissions office</p></li>
<li><p>To this point, there may have been competing peer apps to the same school, in which case, an ethical GC will not actively campaign Admissions to admit one classmate over another. Find out whether your senior is the only one from his/her HS on this WL. If “yes,” ask your GC if they’ll pitch your senior. And if they have a long relationship with this Admissions office, they will be able to draw on past admission decisions and even alum performance by those who matriculated to compare/contrast your senior. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Note, my wording of the intro, “This is what our GC taught me,” was purposeful. In the “YMMV parenting advice” arena, while I am a strong believer this is our kids’ process, not ours, I break from that belief when it comes to playing the WL game. I do think it is very important for our kids to become emotionally invested in a school that’s already shown them the love. They do not need to know all of the “behind of the scenes” scoop you, as parent, are now stepping in to learn. If the scoop is bad, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing it, and you and your GC can guide and support appropriately. If the scoop is promising, you can privately suffer the emotional rollercoaster and manage the practical logistics of “what if” it comes true. If it does, your senior will enjoy the shock and ecstasy of a “dream come true.” Or not. Funny things happen on the way to the forum…like kids deciding they want to dance with the one that brung them!</p>
<p>Good luck to all of you and your fabulous seniors!</p>
<p>Oh, and re: visits, I noted one of my son’s schools advised WL students to NOT visit. I don’t know how I come down on this, but just FYI (and also to provide context in case you sense resistance from the school).</p>
<p>From the U Chicago Uncommon Blog:</p>
<p>We do not encourage waitlisted students to visit campus. This is for several reasons. First, we do not schedule interviews with waitlisted students, and there is nothing we would tell you in person that we could not also tell you over e-mail or over the phone. Second, we want you to spend your time and resources visiting schools to which you were admitted. And third, frankly, visiting campus as a waitlisted student can be awkward for you and your parents.</p>
<p>Waitlist statistics are available on a school’s Common Data Set (CDS) in section C2. For elite schools, the rates can be from zero to about half of the admissions rate. Rarely do you see more than a handful of kids getting off the waitlist at top schools.</p>
<p>Wailtlists are unhealthy. If your son or daughter feels that the stress of a last-minute change would be too great, don’t insist on staying on a waitlist. It can work out for a very few, but if your child has a good alternative, I’d advise you to give up those slim hopes of getting in off a waitlist and embrace what acceptances you have. The exception would be the student who only got accepted to safeties and wants to pursue the waitlist.</p>
<p>“The exception would be the student who only got accepted to safeties and wants to pursue the waitlist.”</p>
<p>That’s exactly the situation we’re in. I’m not pushing the WL – she is sorely disappointed at her results and really really wanted to be at one of the WL schools.</p>
<p>In the meantime, I am presenting the safeties as great schools and I’m mentioning all the positives, just in case the WL thing doesn’t work out. </p>
<p>Good advice on visiting – I wasn’t sure if it is the smart thing to do or not. And I will shield her from the blow by blow description of the gc discussion – that’s good advice.</p>
<p>We have 2 good acceptances and 2 waitlists in addition to two safeties. S is fairy serious about 1 waitlisted school and not that much interested in the other at this time (hasn’t ever visited and is now wondering why he applied). It appears we will hold the 1st WL position and let S promote himself through contacts with his assigned area Adcon at the school. We will hold off sending in the deposit and commitment until late April. Fortunately, the primary WL school had a very detailed blog last year about how the WL was handled and the process used to contact, provide FA information and the one week decision requirement.</p>
<p>Our trip on the SS Indecision has just begun. We have admitted student visits to both accepted schools in another week. Fortunately, both are on weekdays (Monday and a Friday) so the kids get some real class time and student contact while they are there. I just hope the FA letter from the 2nd accepted school shows up before the visits. Although he needs to choose with his feelings and his heart, we need to possibly steer him with our wallet.</p>
Love the school that accepted you. It may actually be a better fit than you realized. Don’t go for the rankings, the higher ranked schools have been less likely to go to their WL than other schools. Now’s the time to seriously consider all aspects of each school that accepted you (not what you’re not getting at the school that WL’d you!) It’s healthier for you to reject the school that put you on their WL because the likelihood of getting off that WL is minimal. Do you really need another rejection?</p>
<p>I know some people who finally visited school X, after they were WL’d, and all they did was bemoan the fact that they didn’t do that earlier. And nope, they never got off the WL.</p>
<p>I posted this on another thread, but wanted to share with you our D’s experience last year:</p>
<p>Last spring our D had a whopping 8 WL! All of these schools were highly selective, but the outcome was still a bit of a surprise. She opted to remain on 6/8 lists. (She decided not to pursue WUST or Tufts.) She sent updated information (transcripts showing continued 4.0 UW, AP scores, awards earned in the spring, etc.). She told two of these schools if accepted, she would definitely attend. Her GC from her prep also contacted these two schools. She was NOT a FA applicant (full pay). The result? Cornell took no one off their list last year for her college. Dartmouth took less than 15 if I recall. She made the first “cut” at Penn, but did not get a call. She did not get a call at Brown either. The last two, Princeton and Vanderbilt, she pursued with all her heart and soul. It was a summer of purgatory. Neither materialized. </p>
<p>I remember that feeling of disappointment and uncertainty, so for those whose child is going through this I can completely empathize. Like others have said, though, love the school that loves you and impress upon your child the necessity to treat these WL as rejections for statistically, for the highly selective schools, very few if any are called. The good news is that she had some excellent offers and is happy at her chosen school.</p>
<p>These are really helpful stories, and I agree that no one should “try” to get into college using waitlists. Even if they do get in, I can imagine it’s very jarring to switch gears suddenly, and that’s why lots of kids turn down the offer.</p>
<p>Thank you for the Common Data Set info. I looked up my D’s waitlist school (Brandeis). In 09-10 they offered about 1400 kids the waitlist, almost 600 took it, and almost 200 got in. So in our case I would say my D has a decent chance, rather than a miniscule one, but again nothing she should bank on. </p>
<p>In her case I think she has very justifiable reasons for accepting the waitlist, based on how she feels about the school, as long as she doesn’t get her heart set on it, which I know she won’t. In her case, she is a very good student who could take an opening left by an excellent student who has gotten into a school they prefer over Brandeis. And getting in would mean so much to her: she could get everything she wants in a school at Brandeis, including being in Boston, which has been her preferred location all along (there just weren’t many schools that fit her needs).</p>
<p>I know she is continuing to consider this option, even with its downsides. I am confident this could feel more like win-win for her, regardless of the outcome. In the meantime, she will make a serious, focused choice among the schools she did get into.</p>
<p>For waitlists, I recommend, putting together any new information that can improve your outlook as a candidate, meeting with your GC and composing a letter containing the information, getting a commitment from the GC to contact the college and advocate for you. Let those schools know you will attend if you clear the list. </p>
<p>Then forget about it. Go forward and make a choice out of those schools that admitted you, and don’t even think about the wait list. Unless you are admitted, it is not of relevance, so do not let the waitlist cheat you out of this time of choosing from the schools with acceptances and getting ready to go to one of them. </p>
<p>My oldest son, hardly remembered the waitlist when he did clear one. He was hyped and ready to go with his choice and had no interest by then.</p>
<p>D1 chose not to stay on any waitlists in her day. </p>
<p>D2 chose to stay on one, but her mindset was that a WL was as good as a NO and that she needed to psychologically move on. She went on to fall in love with one of the schools that had accepted her. If the WL school had come through, she would have gone to it. But it didn’t…and like jc40’s she’s having a good experience at her school. </p>
<p>But it is important to psychologically move on, even now. If the WL comes through, great! Then you can decide whether to attend.</p>
<p>D was waitlisted in 2009 at 2 schools and chose to stay on the list. The most affordable alternative was the university in our home town where I work. She didn’t really want to go there but did not want the debt of her other options. We put down a deposit and she pre- registered for the fall.</p>
<p>One of the waitlist schools she did follow up with. Since she had applied in December she sent in her final grades (all As); she also won several awards and other recognitions. She stated that she would attend if admitted if financially able. This school met full need. She had also been a Questbridge applicant but was not selected through QB. </p>
<p>In early June she was contacted and offered admission at this school, with the school meeting her full need. They took 30 students fro
the waitlist her year. Last year they took none.</p>
<p>She had started to accept staying here and actually had 3 part-time job offers. She would have been fine. But the way her offer came through was an unexpected gift and I think she may appreciate it more since she was originally wait-listed.</p>
<p>Great post from LoremIpsum on another thread:
Quote:
“I think if there’s a school you would really prefer over all you current choices this year esp it would be wise to stay on the list. Like I said, that’s my guess. Anybody agree with me?” </p>
<p>Yes. Absolutely. The number of total college applicants peaked two years ago, although the number of applications for the top 50 or so schools continue to climb rapidly – this leads me to believe each student is trying to protect himself by sharply increasing the number of colleges to which he is applying.</p>
<p>As the HYPSM group continues to cavalierly reject large numbers of students with perfect or near-perfect stats, I don’t think the schools just below them, in the 10-19% acceptance range, have any clue as to how many of their own best and brightest will remain – many of them are probably expecting HYPSM to continue their trend of cherry-picking for intangibles and leaving many, many academic superstars behind.</p>
<p>Yet colleges, like mutual-fund managers suffer from group-think. So HYPSM will probably underperform in its accepted percentage of URMs, athletes, and women-in-engineering, simply because these folks will suffer from too many choices. This will force HYPSM to go to its waitlist, which should open quite a few slots at the next level down.</p>
<p>The lessor Ivies should have even more openings, because some acceptees will move upward off the high-end waitlist while the yield due to multiple lateral opportunities causes each college at this level to see a lower-than-expected yield. As they dig even deeper into their waitlists, yet more opportunities will appear at the level just below.</p>
<p>This situation is the classic parabola-shaped bubble, similar to the one that marked the peak of the Nasdaq in March of 2000 or the peak in housing prices 3-4 years ago – but this time the unsustainable parabolic rise is in the number of applications per person. There’s no absolute guarantee that it will break this year, but it will happen this way and in the not-too-distant future: there aren’t more students, just more applications – how much longer can the number of applications continue to jump 10-15% a year, as the total number of students continues its slow decline off the peak? </p>
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<p>Last edited by LoremIpsum; Today at 02:53 AM</p>
<p>I don’t understand much of the theory that refers to - but I think it’s behind our reasoning, too. Our WL is at exactly the kind of school whose yield will be vastly affected by kids’ decisions at the top 10-20 schools, as it has been consistently in the past.</p>
<p>I’ll say again, though - she will make a choice in the meantime with a fully dedicated heart, and deal with any surprises later from the waitlist with an open mind.</p>